12.12.2006

This has been a good year for folk reissues. Not only have some overlooked artists been resurrected but many of the articles have been very seldom or never properly released. Along with the reissues of Sibylle Baier and Linda Perhacs, these gems by Karen Dalton and Susan Christie are unbelievable in their quality especially for not having gotten terribly wide or in Christie's case any release originally

Susan Christie - Paint A Lady Philly songstress Susan Christie's career lasted one hit, recorded as a single for a major label before she vanished into almost certain obscurity. She had a knack for mixing soul and psych and applying them to country standards.

along with some great original material. The re-imaging of country songs into psych soul masterpieces recalls Bettye Swann's soul touches on the Nashville catalog. Christie however gives her reinterpretations a huge shot of counterculture folk leanings with some obvious influences from the drug culture of the period. The instrumentation and creative arrangements on her songs certainly give wonder to how such a talent could have faded so quickly. The record was originally rejected by major labels but luckily some master acetates survived and this reissue has been released to the world.

Karen Dalton - In My Own Time Dalton had an incredibly powerful voice and could play blues guitar with an incredibly delicate and soulful style. Karen took folk and soul classics and made them unmistakably her own. Grabbing hold of even tired classics like

"When A Man Loves A Woman" and "How Sweet It Is," and breathing a sense of humanity and life back into their often lip serviced words. Karen was a fixture of the village folk scene but this release embraces a fuller production and plays up Dalton's handling of blues and soul. In My Own Time was selected and produced by Harvey Brooks, who played on both Highway 61 and Bitches' Brew. Not long after the album's release Dalton slipped away to her family and never really caught hold as a household name. This year's re-release of her classic album gives her a much needed shot back into the spotlight.